Naruto Excalibur Episode 2- Kakashi's Defection
by ebrooks5624
Summary: While Shikamaru, Kiba, and Neji battle a new foe and an old friend and Naruto, Jiraiya, Sakura, and Konohamaru escort a caravan to the Stone Village, Tsunade receives word from Kakashi that the Akatsuki might be receiving a package from the Land of Rivers and sends him and Shizune to take care of it. How will these teams prevail in their A-Ranked dangerous missions?
1. The Akatsuki's Plan

Naruto-Excalibur

Episode 2- Kakashi's Defection

Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it this far in the story. Not many people who doesn't wish to be an author makes a second story. But since I've received so many messages asking me to continue on with the story and I have time to kill, I might as well. Thanks to everyone who decided to read my story and a bigger thanks to people who came back to read more. I promise you guys that I won't disappoint you, although most wanted a continuation of the battle. Speaking of the battle, there will be a continuation of it but the only reason why I didn't make it part of the title or big on the summary was because the major factor of this episode will be Kakashi joining the Akatsuki. Of course a couple times I'll go back to the action so I won't be totally doing what you guys wouldn't want but still be getting the aspect of what I'd want for this story to consist of. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do and thanks for the support.

Disclaimer: I've said this many times so I'm just going to do this once per episode if I get tired of repeating myself. Anyways, I don't own the Naruto franchise or anything involving it.

What I Would Have Done Differently: If I owned the Naruto series, Naruto would have been the 8th Hokage. Just saying.

* * *

*Previously on Naruto Excalibur*

Jiraiya comes back after Naruto just settled in the Leaf Village after his 2 and a half year training. He tells Naruto of an A-Ranked mission the two are assigned on and Naruto agrees and asks to bring Sakura which Jiraiya had no problem in doing. On the way, Naruto gets another companion to go and he was no other than Konohamaru Sarutobi who begged Naruto to come along.

Once the group finally formed up and met up with Jiraiya outside the gate, they finally sent off to the Star Village. Meanwhile, upon hearing rumors that the Akatsuki might be nearby Jiraiya's team, Tsunade sent a backup unit consisting of Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba to go help them in case of an Akatsuki attack. On their way there though, they are ambushed by a familiar looking boy and no other than Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Gai asked. Team Gai met up in front of where Anko had stood as she introduced the Forest of Death to the genin. Guy planned on using the training grounds to test his students and their ability to defeat him in it.

"Of course sensei, but it seems that Neji has disappeared!" Rock Lee replied, saluting.

"Yeah, where is Neji? It's not like him to not show up for something like this." Tenten said., worried.

"I thought he was running late." Gai said.

"That's another thing Neji wouldn't do" Tenten added.

"Well why don't we ask the Hokage," Guy suggested and the two nodded.

* * *

"You guys good to go?" the delivery supplier said. An industry that makes certain rare artifacts had a special delivery to get the Orb of Chaos ready for a pickup by the Akatsuki. The pickup cost happened to be very pricey but manageable. Outside the industrial building happened to be the delivery supplier and two workers.

"Yeah, the truck is ready. All we need is to get a destination from the Akatsuki." the nearby worker answered. The delivery supplier grinned wickedly.

"Good." he said, watching as the the men finished setting up.

* * *

"So, I heard you sent my students on a mission with Master Jiraiya," Kakashi said. "An A-Ranked mission, right?"

"Yes," Tsunade responded. "If it's their safety you're worried about, don't worry. With Jiraiya with them, they should be fine."

"Good to hear." Kakashi said. Tsunade stared at Kakashi then looked at her desked. After a long sigh, she spoke.

"Kakashi, I know for a fact that your students isn't the reason why you came here. Is there something I should know about?" Tsunade asked. Kakashi looked around the room only to see her and Shizune who stood obediently like she always did. He walked closer to the two and finally spoke.

"My lady, I received word from one of our spies who claimed to have seen three Akatsuki members heading for the Land of Rivers." Kakashi explained. "Rumor has it, they might be after Naruto but I doubt it."

"But why? Didn't they try to get him before?" Shizune asked. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes, I know. But even though they're near Naruto, I think that they might have another objective." Kakashi said, sounding very serious. In fact serious enough to make Shizune tremble.

"Another objective? What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, trying to figure out what Kakashi meant.

"Think about it. You know where the Tenji Brothers Delivery Service is right?" Kakashi questioned. Tsunade's face relaxed signaling that she finally understood. Shizune still look puzzled though.

"Um, can anyone explain what's going on?" Shizune shyly asked.

"Tsunade, care to sum things up?" Kakashi asked. Tsunade turned to the clueless Shizune.

"Shizune, the Tenji Brothers or TBDS are known for shipping important stuff around the world. They specialize in careful delivery and usually hire guards to protect them. Do you get it now?" Tsunade summarized. Shizune relaxed and smiled.

"Oh, now I understand." she said.

"The reason I came here was to suggest that I go check it out myself." Kakashi suggested. Now it was Tsunade's turn to smile.

"Kakashi, I can tell you are someone who prefers to work alone, but you are too valuable a ninja to go send into enemy lines all alone. Take Shizune with you and report back to me quickly." Tsunade commanded. Kakashi sighed and nodded then took a quick bow.

"Shizune, I'll meet you at the gate." Kakashi said and left the room. Shizune turned to Tsunade and cocked her head.

"Um, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked.

"What is it?" Tsunade commanded.

"Nothing, its just that I was wondering...did Kakashi seem a little different to you?" Shizune wondered. Tsunade sighed and stared at the door. Shizune looked at her, wondering what she was thinking.

"Honestly, he did seem different to me too. Shizune, make sure you be careful and watch his every move." Tsunade ordered. Shizune nodded.

"Yes, my lady." Shizune bowed. She bowed again then left the room.

_Kakashi, just what might you be up to_, Tsunade wondered.

Just as Tsunade began to relax, there was a knock on her door. Tsunade sighed again.

_Who the hell could it be this time, _she thought.

"Come in." Tsunade commanded. Responding to that, the door opened slowly revealing the remainder of Team Gai.

* * *

"Tsunade, just the person we wanted to see." Gai gloatingly said. Tsunade let out another sigh.

"What's wrong, Lady Tsunade?" Lee asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just tired from all the stress today. I just sent Kakashi on the third A-Ranked mission today." Tsunade groaned.

"What?! What about me?!" Gai jealously said which made Tsunade let out another sigh.

"Gai you and your team don't need to worry. I have an S-Ranked mission for you to do once Neji returns." Tsunade explained which made Team Gai gasp.

"Neji is on a mission?" Tenten asked.

"Yes, he left with Shikamaru and Kiba a while ago. They're chasing after Naruto's team in case of an Akatsuki threat." Tsunade said before she let out a yawn.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok, Lady Tsunade?" Gai asked? Tsunade let out another sigh before nodding.

"For now I want you three to sit back and relax until Neji comes back. You guys will begin your mission that next day, depending on Neji's status." Tsunade summarized. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, thanks for letting us know Lady Tsunade." Lee said and the three left the room.

"You guys heard what she said, it's time to relax. Why don't we just do warm-up exercises today?" Gai suggested. Lee jumped up and saluted.

"Yes, Gai sensei!" Lee responded and Tenten let out a sigh.

_Sometimes I wonder what Iruka was thinking when he assigned me to this team_, Tenten thought.

"Ok, as long as it's not too long," Tenten said reluctantly. "There's something I need to do now that I have the time to do it."

The three proceeded down the hall and somehow didn't hear the snoring Tsunade that was drooling on her desk.

* * *

"Hmm...you sure took your time Shizune," Kakashi greeted as she finally came to the gate. "It's almost like you don't want to come."

"Don't want to come? Of course I do! I just stopped to get a couple of things before we left." Shizune explained. Kakashi let a grin out which Shizune couldn't see obviously.

_Shizune. You're as good a liar as Naruto_, Kakashi thought. _Hmm...does Tsunade not trust me?_

"Kakashi, you ready?" Shizune asked the dazed one-eyed ninja. Kakashi woke from his daydream and stared at Shizune.

"Oh, right. Let's go." he answered. The three left the village and headed north towards the Land of Rivers.

* * *

Not as long a chapter I wanted it to be but I'm all out of ideas. The next chapter will probably either continue the Kakashi-Shizune mission or continue the fight from the first episode. Whichever you want, just let me know in the reviews. I'm open to suggestions but I'll probably start continuing the second chapter. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for the next chapter. Also, let me know what you think about Kakashi joining Akatsuki. I'm curious to ideas.


	2. The Mission Gets Serious

Naruto-Excalibur

Episode 2- Kakashi's Defection

Alright guys, thank you for your suggestions but please try not to use private messaging as I have said already. I've gotten most votes for the the continuation of the Kakashi-Shizune arc. By the way, depending how I go with the storyline will determine what I do next. Thank you all for the support. Also, I'm going to tell you beforehand that this episode will be longer than the last one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Shikamaru would have became the 8th Hokage.

* * *

"Shizune, are you alright?" Kakashi asked. The two were resting around a fire that Kakashi made after they encountered rain ninja not too long ago. Shizune was wounded, but not badly enough to hold the two back. Shizune grimaced at the pain on her left leg and Kakashi watched as she gave him a slow nod.

"It's alright Kakashi," Shizune answered. "I'm fine. I should be able to walk by tomorrow morning." Kakashi went over to Shizune and removed the blood-soaked bandages and replaced it with clean ones.

"Thanks, Kakashi." Shizune said and Kakashi nodded. Kakashi then got up and sat across from her and stared into the dark sky. The two were exhausted and weak from the trip and the battle. Shizune watched Kakashi as he watched the sky like a hawk.

_What is he thinking about, _Shizune thought. Kakashi's mind began to fill with thoughts of the battle. He barely saved Shizune from death and almost died himself if it weren't for his new Sharingan technique, Kamui. As he scanned the sky, he began recalling the battle that got the two in this mess.

* * *

"Jeez, we've walked for two hours straight!" Shizune groaned. Kakashi ignored her and kept walking which forced Shizune to let out a sigh and follow. After a while Kakashi spotted a river up ahead.

"Alright Shizune, we'll rest when we get there." Kakashi suggested and Shizune quickly nodded. As the two neared the river, Kakashi spotted a campfire next to it. He held up his hand to stop the panting Shizune.

"Hmm...someone was already here." Kakashi said, scanning the area.

"What do you mean?" Shizune asked.

"This campfire. It looks like the fire was just made. We might have trouble." Kakashi explained. Right as he said that, a shuriken breezed by them and headed straight for Kakashi. He moved his head and the shuriken landed in front of the campfire.

"Well, that was..." Kakashi was about to finish when Shizune tackled him.

"Get down!" she hollered as the shuriken exploded.

_Paper bomb, of course, _Kakashi thought as he lifted his headband to reveal his Sharingan. He began looking around to find the attackers when more paper bombs flew towards him. He easily dodged them because of his Sharingan but realized that the amount of paper bombs near each other would cause a great explosion.

_Hmm...I never really thought I would actually need to use this,_ Kakashi thought. He prepared his new Sharingan at the paper bombs as they all exploded.

"Mangekyo Sharingan!" Kakashi said as the explosion neared him and Shizune. Just then, a black aura appeared in front of them and consumed the explosion and teleported it to the bushes across from them. Sure enough as the explosion went off in the bushes and a few trees, he heard a couple of screams then dead silence. Kakashi quickly ran to Shizune.

"Shizune, are you alright?" he asked, having a slight worry in his tone. Shizune turned over and looked at Kakashi.

"I'm fine. But my leg..." Kakashi looked down to see that her pants were torn near her ankle on her left leg. her exposed skin was badly cut with blood caked all over it.

"This is bad," Kakashi said. "I'll lean you against a tree while I check out the area for more attackers. I'll be back soon." Shizune winced then nodded and Kakashi set her down on a nearby tree. Kakashi stood and glanced at her as she began tending to her wounds with medical ninjutsu.

_I'll be back soon Shizune,_ Kakashi thought. _Just hold on._

Kakashi jumped on top of a tree and scanned the area to find a group of people hidden around bushes and quickly recognized who they were.

"Oto ninja," Kakashi said to himself. "Of course."

The Oto ninja were sitting in a large square formation. Within the square formation was a circle with an "X" through it in the center.

_Is it possible that they...yes it is, _Kakashi thought as he readied two kunai in his right hand. He could obviously sense the combined chakra and hear the chants of the ninja and planned on disrupting the ritual. Skillfully, he threw the two kunai knives at one of the ninjas and it hit him directly, one in the skull and the other landed on his back. The ninja cried out in pain and collapsed on the floor dead, alerting the others who stood up.

"Tokuro!" one of the ninja cried out in a female voice.

"The ritual is ruined!" another female ninja cried out.

"Ready yourselves guys" the third said in a male voice.

The three pulled out kunai knives while Kakashi sat up in the tree grinning through his mask.

_Look at them, _he thought. _They're so helpless._

He pulled out a kunai and another with a paperbomb attached. He threw them at another ninja who caught sight of it and dodged them both.

"He's up there!" the Oto ninja said then looked down.

"Paperbomb!" The female ninja said but couldn't dodge it in time as a large explosion prevented her escape. The two remaining ninja managed to get out of the way and looked at their dead comrade. Before the male ninja uttered anything, the female one stopped him.

"No use saying something while the enemy still has the advantage over us. Be on guard." she explained.

"Too late now." a voice said that surprised the ninjas. Before they could do anything, they both fell unconscious after Kakashi struck the both of them on the head. The two collapsed on the ground and Kakashi relaxed.

_Good, that takes care of them,_ Kakashi thought as he picked up the two unconscious ones. He slung them on his shoulders and headed back to Shizune.

* * *

Kakashi turned and looked at the two Oto ninja tied up across from them.

"Kakashi." Shizune said in a low voice. Kakashi turned to her.

"I'm sorry...if I'm slowing you down." she apologized, looking at the grass. Kakashi chuckled and looked at her.

"Don't worry about it Shizune. Your injuries are more important right now." Kakashi explained and watched Shizune look up.

"Even if you were to continue on, an injured medical ninja is only going to get me killed. You're the only medical ninja, so you're more important than my accord." Kakashi said and watched Shizune smile.

"Thank you, Kakashi." she said.

* * *

The caravan proceeded towards the Stone Village but after a while Jiraiya halted the march.

"Do you sense it Naruto?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto stood for a minute before nodding.

"What should we do?" he asked.

"Prepare yourself. They're coming from behind." Jiraiya replied. The others responded with a gasp and some readied some kunai. Hokuto and Mizura walked up to Naruto.

"What's going on?" Hokuto asked.

"Apparently, we're being followed." Naruto explained to them and they gasped. "Guys, be prepared for trouble."

Hokuto and Mizura pulled out kunai knives in response and stared behind them. Eventually, three figures approached them. Once they got close enough, Jiraiya and Naruto stiffened up.

"It's about time you guys showed your faces." Jiraiya said, staring at the three with cold eyes. The three figures came close enough to reveal their Akatsuki robes.

"You three again?" Naruto asked. "Deidara, Kisame, and...and who are you again?"

Hidan's face changed quickly.

"How dare you...you stupid brat!" Hidan angrily said. Hokuto and Mizura watched the 5 have a long stare-down. Mizura finally spoke.

"Wh-who are you guys?" Mizura asked. Deidara grinned wickedly and pointed to his robe.

"You seriously never heard of the Akatsuki?" he asked and Mizura's eyes widened. Kisame grinned wickedly at him.

"Well I guess our work just became a little easier for us." he said, still grinning. His right hand slowly raised thn he grasped the hilt of his sword. "We were intentionally going to catch up to you guys in the Land of Rivers, but I guess meeting up with you now just got rid of all the time we would have wasted."

Deidara jammed his right hand into his right pocket inside of his robe. Naruto readied his kunai as he watch Kisame slowly pulling his sword over his head. Jiraiya took another look at the caravan and then at Naruto.

"Naruto," Jiraiya began. Naruto looked at Jiraiya as he continued. "I've got these guys. You go and protect the caravan, alright?" Naruto stopped himself from arguing since he knew that would lead to nothing more but a time-waster.

"Ok." he replied and rushed to join the others.

"Bold move, Master Jiraiya," Kisame said, still grinning wickedly. "But unfortunately that's going to be your fatal mistake."

Kisame yanked his sword and swiftly pointed it to Jiraiya.

"I hope you're ready to die, Jiraiya." he said menacingly. Then he turned to his two companions who were also ready to fight.

"You two go on ahead and pick up the package. I got things here." Kisame said. Hidan groaned loudly.

"Oh _sure_, let's let Kisame have all the fun." he complained. Deidara took his hand out of his pocket. He looked into the air as a clay bird landed next to him. Right after that, he hopped on and turned his head to Hidan.

"Hidan, don't bother arguing. You and I both know how important the package is." Deidara explained.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get the hell outta here before I get angry." Hidan replied and he too climbed on the clay bird. As the clay bird began flying off, Naruto shouted at them.

"Hey! Come back you cowards!" The two we're too far to hear Naruto although Naruto is pretty loud a talker.

"I wouldn't be focusing on them right now kid." Kisame said, letting his arm with the sword drop to his side. "It's _me _who you should be worried about!"

As soon as he finished, Kisame charged towards Naruto but was stopped by Jiraiya's jutsu.

"Fire style, Toad Flame Bomb!" Jiraiya shouted as he shot out a big wave of fire at Kisame and engulfed him in it.

_Did I get him_, Jiraiya thought as he stopped blowing. His question was answered when Kisame countered with his jutsu.

"Water style, Water Wall." Kisame said as a big wall of water covered him and extinguished the fire around him. When the water and fire dispersed, a laughing Kisame appeared in front of him.

"You have to try harder than that Master Jiraiya." Kisame said, performing a sequence of handsigns. Jiraiya noticing that threw 3 shuriken that impaled Kisame all in the stomach. His body melted into water and the shuriken dropped to the ground.

_A water clone_, Jiraiya thought._ Well that means that..._

"Haha, you've guessed it!" a laughing Kisame said. Jiraiya turned around to find him doing the handsigns again.

"Oh no!" Jiraiya said as Kisame performed the jutsu.

"Water style, Water Prison Jutsu!" Kisame said as Jiraiya was consumed by an orb of water that was controlled by his right hand.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto, get out of here!" Jiraiya shouted back. "Go, hurry!"

But Naruto couldn't move. He shook in fear as his teacher sat in an orb of water, losing his oxygen to tell him to run. Naruto turned to the caravan and looked at Hokuto and Mizura getting ready to start moving again.

_Should I really run away? Leave Pervy Sage there to die?_

* * *

"What the hell?!" Kiba said, shocked at what he was looking at.

"What's wrong Kiba?" Naruto asked. "You looked like a frightened little girl."

"Grr...what are you doing_? _You're with Orochimaru now?" Kiba asked, trying to ignore what Naruto said.

"Cool it Kiba." Shikamaru said, raising his right arm in front of him. "The last thing you want is to provoke them."

Kiba growled but relaxed. As much as he wanted to, deep down inside he knew that it might prove to be a fatal decision.

"Let's try to get them off their guard." Shikamaru suggested to Kiba and Kiba nodded in response.

"Ok, but how do we do that?" he asked.

_Hmm...how do we do that? _Shikamaru thought. He scanned both Naruto and Sasuke. _Well Sasuke seems like Sasuke. All quiet and mysterious. But doesn't Naruto have the Hokage's necklace?_

Shikamaru looked at Naruto closely but didn't see any necklace. So he safely concluded that the Naruto standing before them was a mere clone.

"Hey, are you two just gonna stand there?!" Naruto questioned while pointed at them.

"Where's the real Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto grinned in response. Sasuke glanced at Shikamaru.

_He's beginning to figure this out, _Sasuke thought. _Impressive._

"What are you talking about, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"The Naruto I know wears the necklace from the first Hokage." Shikamaru answered.

"Well maybe I decided to take it off." Naruto shot back. Kiba looked at Shikamaru, wondering what he was doing.

"Why would you? You got it from the Fifth Hokage as a gift after you risked your life for her. It also keeps the Nine-Tails in check. Face it, you're a fake probably sent by Orochimaru to distract us." Shikamaru responded. Sasuke grinned and and placed his right hand on his sword's hilt.

"You are one impressive Chunin." Sasuke said. "As a reward, we'll let you pass through, but know this. We will encounter each other eventually before you go back to the Leaf Village and we will show no mercy. Naruto, show them what you really look like."

"Man, you guys are a pain you know that?" Naruto said as he removed his mask, revealing that it was Kabuto.

"Kabuto. I should have known" Neji said, getting up.

"Kabuto?" Kiba asked.

"Well, well, well. It's been a while Kiba. Last time we met was in the finals of the Chunin Exams." Kabuto greeted.

"The finals...wait don't tell me. You were that Anbu guy?" Kiba questioned and Kabuto snickered in response.

"You fell right for it. I got bored and helped your little friend but I had to shut you up before you revealed my identity." Kabuto explained. "Well enough talk. See you guys later."

With that, Kabuto and Sasuke teleported off.

"You ok Neji?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, I can manage. Right now, getting to Naruto is our priority." Neji replied.

"Neji's right. We'll rest later." Shikamaru added. The three went back in formation and began leaping on trees to try to catch up with their comrades.

* * *

"Hmm...looks like they left you after all." Kisame said, boasting in laughter.

_That's not like him,_ Jiraiya thought. _To leave just like that...i_

"It's not him you should be worried about, Kisame." Jiraiya said, his hair surrounding his body.

"Oh, what have we here?" Kisame asked, grinning. "I should have known you were stalling this whole time.

As Kisame said that, spikes shot from Jiraiya's hair and through the water sphere. Kisame released the jutsu and jumped back to avoid the spikes but was unfortunate as one shot straight through his cheek. A streak of blood coated the streak where Kisame got pierced.

_I knew that he was trying to get rid of me!_ a shadow clone that Naruto wisely hid exclaimed in his head. _Grr...fine then, he can fight by himself!_

As the clone said that, it disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. The sound was loud enough for Jiraiya and Kisame to hear.

"Oh, so he didn't leave you after all." Kisame concluded. Jiraiya grinned.

"That knucklehead." Jiraiya snickered." I guess he trusts me to finish you off Kisame."

"Go ahead and try, Jiraiya. But don't forget who you're dealing with."

That was the last thing that was said. The two engaged in combat.

* * *

Ok I'll stop here guys and prepare the fight for the next chapter. Sorry I didn't finish it sooner, but I had a lot of stuff to do. Thanks for those who read and enjoyed the series so far, and I hope you like this chapter since I made it as long as my imagination took me. The next chapter will take a while to be published since I have a summer trip to go to with my family, but I will appreciate any feedback or opinions you have to give.


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